NL Central Notes: Cubs, Feliz, McCutchen, Marte, Brewers

While the Cubs have locked down the top three leaders in their baseball operations department by agreeing to extensions with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod, the team’s front office could still see a number of executives poached by other clubs in the coming years, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Scouting director Jared Porter and assistant GM Shiraz Rehman were both mentioned in connection with the Twins recently, and both figure to come up in future front office searches. “Porter will be a GM and soon,” writes Passan, who also lists director of player development Jaron Madison and director of baseball operations Scott Harris as rising stars within the field.

A bit more from the NL Central…

Neftali Feliz isn’t likely to get back on the mound for the Pirates this season, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Feliz, signed as a free agent last winter, enjoyed a nice rebound campaign with the Buccos in 2016, pitching to a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate in 53 2/3 innings of work while playing on a modest $3.9MM salary. The specific nature of the arm injury that has plagued Feliz since early September remains somewhat murky, though he was reportedly cleared of elbow or shoulder troubles earlier this month. Assuming there are no major medical concerns, he’ll become yet another pitcher to significantly boost his stock in a brief stint with the Pirates, as he’ll enter the open market with an ERA nearly three runs lower and a K/9 rate that’s nearly three whiffs higher than he did a year ago.

In a second piece from the Post-Gazette, Stephen J. Nesbitt writes that while Andrew McCutchen’s defensive ratings in center field have plummeted — his -26 DRS mark is the worst of any fielder at any position in baseball, and his -14.4 UZR is third-worst — Pirates manager Clint Hurdle isn’t ready to flip McCutchen and standout defensive left fielder Starling Marte. “I know that there are probably going to be plays that Marte can make in center field that maybe Andrew doesn’t make,” said Hurdle, “[but] there are plays Marte makes in left field that nobody can make. That’s the other point. Everybody in the street talks to me about center field. Marte makes plays in left that I don’t know if any other left fielder in the game can make.”

The Brewers have made some changes in their scouting department, and Baseball America’s John Manuel has details on the promotions and hirings. Noted scouting director Ray Montgomery is being moved up the ladder to vice president of scouting and will now be the organization’s lead talent evaluator, whereas assistant scouting director Tod Johnson will shed the “assistant” from his title. Pro scouting director Zack Minasian will now serve as a special advisor to the scouting department. “Scouting will always be an integral aspect of our focus on acquiring and developing young talent, and we are confident that today’s moves will enhance those efforts to be among the best in the industry,” said GM David Stearns in a statement.

Dude, you of all fans should know that just because a team is down and isn’t contending, doesn’t mean they won’t be contending in the foreseeable future. I’m not saying the Brewers will overtake the Cubs next year or even the year after that, but you can’t deny the mass of young talent that the Brewers possess. Come 2019 and beyond, the Brewers will challenge the Cubs for the division, and then some.

And you know this how? Take a look at the depth of their farm system. They have 3 pitchers and 4 position players in the top 100. Add that to a team that’s already won over 70 games, when some pundits had them losing 100 games. Cubs didn’t even break 70 wins for two seasons during their rebuild. And this was supposed to be the worst year for the Brewers

I guess I am confused on Clint Hurdle’s logic. When he says “Everybody in the street talks to me about center field. Marte makes plays in left that I don’t know if any other left fielder in the game can make”. Isn’t left field typically played by the worst defensive outfielder? Why would he want to keep his best defender there? Is it arm strength?

At PNC Park, the left field is rather quirky. 410 feet to the left-center power gap and said gap has a few odd angles on the wall in a small area that earned itself the name “North Side Notch.” All that real estate out there plus a short enough wall to rob some homeruns leads to the pirates employing a true center fielder in left field.

It makes sense to us, sure, but I believe the real reason he’s not considering swapping the two is the whole “McCutchen is the face of the franchise” narrative. They don’t want to upset the superstar despite his obvious defensive shortcomings.

Exactly. Chipper moved positions multiple times to help the team. But I mean I don’t blame the Pirates if they want to keep him there. It could be a situation for them like Jeter in NY. I am not a Pirates fan so i just don’t know.

CF is about the only place he can play. he has the range and speed for it…. just what happens when he gets there. Marte might be a better CF, but he is one of the best, if not the best LF which is very valuable in PNC.